


Deep Thoughts

by afteriwake



Series: Stuff Of Improbable Legends [104]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Vampire Academy Series - Richelle Mead
Genre: Alternate Versions Of Self, Babies, Confusing, Crossing Timelines, F/M, Happy James, Happy Zoe, James Just Doesn't Want To Think About It, Late Night Conversations, Missed Holiday, Nothing According To Plan, POV James, Relationship Discussions, Siblings, deep thoughts, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 10:20:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9718127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: After spending most of the afternoon and evening at the hospital waiting for his younger self and, apparently, his twin sister to be born, James goes home and has an interesting conversation with Zoe on just what the twisted timeline entails.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sideofrawr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sideofrawr/gifts).



> So this is just not as much Valentine's Day fluff as just kind of James and Zoe talking in the wake of their failed Valentine's Day date. It's mostly just stuff I had on my mind for a while that I thought was worth exploring and is partially inspired by a Tumblr post from **dateagirlwhosuggestion** that goes " _date a girl who considers a date as napping and watching netflix all day_."

“And thank you once again, Aunt Regina, for your magic potion,” James said, settling his daughter in his crib. He’d decided as a Valentine’s Day gift to both his girlfriend and his sister he was going to do pretty much every chore there was to be done while they were both in class, even the ones they had said they’d do, then make sure that there were nice flowers all over the place in case Livvy didn’t go anywhere and _then_ get ready for the date he had planned with Zoe.

That had been the plan.

Things had not gone according to plan.

The house was clean, he had gotten that much done, and he’d just called the first florist in the phone book to see if it was better to get stuff delivered and tip _really_ well or walk in and buy the store when he got _the_ call. The “hey, mini-you is being born, you should probably get to the hospital” call. He called Livvy and Zoe, got Desiree bundled up and headed to Tulane Medical Center Lakeside to wait with his dad. He’d given his dinner reservations to the first person who said they wanted them on the boards and he and Zoe had made do with hospital cafeteria food. The only saving grace he’d had was the fact that Regina’s sleeping draught had kept Desiree nice and quiet while his mom was in labor and dealing with the fact she’d woken up with her head crammed full of all sorts of memories from home.

He _really_ hoped that his mom’s Sherlock never set foot in New Orleans, because...yeah. _That_ would be awkward.

But at 11:45 PM, Leonard Horatio McCoy, Jr. was born, and then, when they thought it was all over, at 11:59 PM, their daughter was born, which threw everyone in the hospital for a loop but his family just kind of took with a sigh of relief. There were two kids, just like there was supposed to be, except instead of Livvy being the eldest and him being the youngest, this time it was twins, with him being the oldest by fourteen minutes. They hadn’t _really_ expected a secret twin, though, and his mom was so tired she just wanted to sleep. Their dad said maybe the two of them should name her, and he pointed out he’d named mini-him so Livvy should have the honors. In the end, his new sister was named Eloise Rosemarie McCoy.

And now, well after the actual holiday, he was back home with his adult sister and girlfriend and kind of marveling at the fact now he had twin siblings. It wasn’t like Chris and Rhea, who were twins and then had twin siblings; this was a whole new thing. But at least they got stuck with the curse of being born on a holiday too. They would share that fun fact.

Zoe came into the nursery and wormed her way under his arm. “Are you tired?” she asked. “I was thinking we could curl up and watch Netflix until we fall asleep. That’s a good enough date for me.”

He shook his head. “I like that idea since I’m not really tired. The stuff Aunt Regina gave us works really well so I get a decent amount of sleep, and _someone_ let me sleep in the morning before she went to class, so I’m pretty rested.” He dropped a kiss on top of her head. “What about you?”

“I’m kind of...bouncy,” she said.

“If I could think of someplace decent to take you that was open right now, I’d go get us a good meal we didn’t have to cook and then go see if Rose would let us into the basement for a while. Or the other way around, if that would be better.”

Zoe reached down and brushed some of the hair out of Desiree’s face. “Are you going to help your parents out?”

James nodded. “In a few days, if they want me to. I really think they were mostly prepared for having the mini-me, so we’ll see if they get overwhelmed. But they’ve kidnapped her a lot so they’ve got a lot of it down. And Regina can give them more of the stuff to help the babies sleep, plus Mom can change the layout of the house so she can make the nursery bigger or do two rooms or whatever they need.”

“It must feel rather strange, with you having a daughter and your parents having the two of you as babies,” she said.

“I try to think of it as a glitch in the time-space continuum. They were supposed to have us pretty soon. I wasn’t supposed to have Desiree, and I wouldn’t if I hadn’t been sent back here.” He pulled her closer. “There’s a whole lot about my life that would be different if I hadn’t gotten sent back here. And not just mine: Em’s, Jenny’s, Chris, Chi, Livvy...”

“Good changes, though?”

“Well, I’m with you and I’m happy, and I’m not with Em and that being kind of weird,” he said. “Em and Jenny are back together and are getting married as soon sa they can get stuff figured out as to where they want to get married and how soon all of us legal age friends can get to Vegas. Chi being older means she and Chris get to be happy. Livvy got a better deal being here than she did back home: her and dad are on better terms, Matt’s out of the picture, and if they can just figure shit out, _maybe_ one day she and Finn could be...something.”

“Are we all trying to get them together?” she asked with a laugh, turning so she could hug him.

“No. Dad refuses to say he likes Finn even though he likes Finn. I imagine Livvy will be able to date before Eloise, but that might be when they both have grey hair. I think somehow Dad’s going to figure out the secret to immortality and use it to make sure his daughters don’t date.”

“But not his sons.”

“Well, his oldest son was smart and started dating the sort of adopted daughter, so he’s okay with that,” he said, embracing her back and grinning down at her. “As long as I don’t do anything stupid to ruin it, I can date.”

“So you can only date me?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yeah. Kind of a McCoy family rule. First choices suck, second choices are for keeps.”

“I kind of like for keeps,” she said, standing up on her tiptoes to lean in and kiss him.

“Good,” he said with a grin before kissing her back. He hadn’t meant for it to come off like he wanted things to move faster than they were, but as long as she was okay with what they had, then all was right with the world.

**Author's Note:**

> **GIFTS:**
> 
> **To Zoe:** [Emerald locket](https://s2.postimg.org/awlupdxa1/il_340x270_768681608_78qm.jpg) | [VIP Membership to Fabletics and $500 to spend there](http://www.fabletics.com/) | [Sucré Signature Chocolates, 15 Piece](http://www.shopsucre.com/chocolates/sucre-signature-15-piece-chocolate.html) | [Sucré Signature Macaron Collection, 15 Piece](http://www.shopsucre.com/macarons/classic-macaron-collection-15-piece.html) | [Roses](https://s31.postimg.org/bxez2b1ej/tumblr_nt5bas_Yy_Xc1uc0rrlo1_540.jpg)
> 
>  **To Desiree:** [Stuffed Rabbit](https://s2.postimg.org/xk13vjcu1/il_340x270_792975178_a721.jpg)


End file.
